CAREER: Bio-inspired Controllable Tensegrity Structures

这个教师早期职业发展（Career）项目的研究目标是利用生物学发现开发新的可控张拉整体结构和运动控制策略。新的结构将纳入形态学和建模创新，这是由于它们在生物学中遇到的张拉整体系统带来的好处。例如，细胞骨架的膜和中间丝对于实现活细胞的结构完整性和变形能力以及传感、控制和信息传递功能至关重要。同样，细胞内部元件在接近其完整性极限的情况下工作，解释了为什么细胞可以抵抗非常大的力。因此，具有传感和控制能力的膜和中间细丝将被添加到当前的张拉整体结构中，并且数学建模假设将被放宽，以允许对接近其机械完整性极限的张拉整体结构进行研究。此外，许多生命系统使用弹性元件驱动和类似张拉整体结构的铰接骨架来实现快速和节能的运动控制。基于张拉整体结构和活体结构之间的相似性，本研究将开发新的运动控制策略，利用张拉整体结构的固有特性，如预应力和内部机制。结合图论、分析力学、结构动力学、控制理论以及符号和数值计算的技术和工具来实现研究目标。如果成功，这项研究的结果将回答科学和工程领域的关键需求。在生物学和医学方面，它们将有助于：a)推进对生物体基本组成部分——细胞的基本理解；B)理解心脏疾病和细胞之间的联系？年代结构;C)帮助组织和器官重建研究；D)解释大自然是如何以一种快速而高效的方式控制运动的。在工程中，数学模型和控制策略对于验证张拉整体应用（如太空望远镜、天线、机器人）至关重要，从而实现从可行性到实施的飞跃。在教育方面，综合研究和教育计划将：a)利用张拉整体结构的多功能性促进跨学科和多学科的教育；B)利用张拉整体结构迷人的外观和特性吸引儿童参与科学；C)通过汇集不同领域的研究人员来加强研究和教育的基础设施。

The research objective of this Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) project is to develop new controllable tensegrity structures and motion control strategies by leveraging biological discoveries. The new structures will incorporate morphological and modeling innovations prompted by the benefits they bring to tensegrity systems encountered in biology. For example the membrane and intermediate filaments of the cytoskeleton are crucial in achieving structural integrity and morphing shape capabilities as well as sensing, control, and information transmitting functions of living cells. Likewise, internal cellular elements working close to their integrity limits explain why cells can resist extremely large forces. Therefore, membranes and intermediate filaments with sensing and control capabilities will be added to current tensegrity structures and the mathematical modeling assumptions will be relaxed to allow investigation of tensegrity structures close to their mechanical integrity limits. Also many living systems achieve fast and energy efficient motion control using elastic elements for actuation and articulated skeletons that resemble tensegrity structures. Based on the similarities between tensegrity and living structures, this research will develop new motion control strategies that exploit intrinsic properties of tensegrity structures such as prestressability and internal mechanisms. The research objective will be achieved by combining techniques and tools of graph theory, analytical mechanics, structural dynamics, control theory, as well as symbolic and numerical computation.If successful, the results of this research will answer crucial needs in science and engineering. In biology and medicine they will serve to: a) advance the fundamental understanding of the basic building block of living organisms, the cell; b) comprehend the connection between heart disease and cell?s structure; c) aid tissue and organ reconstruction research; d) explain how nature controls motion is a fast and energy efficient manner. In engineering the mathematical models and control strategies will be critical in validating tensegrity applications such as space telescopes, antennas, robots, thus enabling the jump from feasibility to implementation. In education the integrated research and education program will: a) promote inter- and multi-disciplinary education using tensegrity structures versatility; b) attract children to science using tensegrity structures fascinating appearance and properties; c) enhance the infrastructure for research and education by bringing together researchers from different fields.